TJ Sabula, a United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, was suspended after he heckled President Donald Trump, calling him a "pedophile protector" during Trump's appearance there on Tuesday—but two GoFundMe campaigns started after he was taken off the job have now raised more than 800 thousand dollars.
Video of the incident shows Trump mouthing "F**k you" before walking off, as he flipped Sabula off after Sabula heckled Trump over his obstruction of the release of the files related to the late financier, sex trafficker, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Sabula confirmed to The Washington Post that he has been suspended from work pending an investigation. While he said he has "definitely no regrets whatsoever," he is nonetheless concerned about losing his job and believes he has been “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.”
Sabula, who identifies as politically independent, said he has never voted for Trump but has backed other Republicans. He estimated he was about 60 feet from Trump on Tuesday and said the president could hear him “very, very, very clearly.”
A GoFundMe campaign titled "TJ Sabula is a patriot!!" has since raised more than $480,000 as of this writing, with donations pouring in from around the world. Sean Williams, who started the fundraiser, urged supporters to "rally and support TJ and help him pay some bills (and force DJT to release the Trump/Epstein Files)."
A second GoFundMe has raised more than $330,000 for Sabula.
Both campaigns have been halted, noting:
"TJ and his family greatly appreciate the outpouring of support! At this time we are closing donations to this campaign and encourage you to look for other causes and organizations to support. We appreciate every single donation, comment, share, and sign of support!"
Many have applauded Sabula's move while criticizing Trump's reaction.
The Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the Epstein files.
The department acknowledged that it has released just 12,285 documents—totaling 125,575 pages—related to Epstein, even though federal law required the bulk of those records to be made public by December 19.
Before Christmas, the department said federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI had identified more than one million additional Epstein-related documents that were not part of its initial review, warning that full compliance with the law could take “a few more weeks.”
Last month, Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said they were weighing an inherent contempt lawsuit against Attorney General Pam Bondi in an effort to force a faster release of the records.
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
